


in full bloom (stay beautiful)

by stellarisms



Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Firefighters, Alternate Universe - Police, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Crush at First Sight, Denial of Feelings, Flirting, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:06:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27948011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarisms/pseuds/stellarisms
Summary: Kim Sehyoon believes in Fate and Soulmates.Kim Byeongkwan believes Soulmates don’t exist.(Both of them might be Soulmates, but they're both waiting for the right moment to come along and prove it to them.)
Relationships: Kang Yuchan | Chan/Lee Donghun/Park Junhee | Jun, Kim Byeongkwan/Kim Sehyoon | Wow
Comments: 16
Kudos: 29
Collections: le fantastique - a.c.e fic fest round 2





	in full bloom (stay beautiful)

Of all the places Sehyoon could’ve been around to catch a fire starting, it _would_ be a fast food restaurant.

Off-duty, too.

Just his luck.

He thought about going somewhere different this morning, too. 

His usual breakfast spot would have been his first choice - a little diner just a few blocks up from his neighborhood.

But of course he decided at the last possible minute to do his grocery run further out so he could stop off at his favorite clothing shop. 

So why not get two things done at once on this side of town, while he was already out and about?

Decision made, he ended up here, of all places.

Here being at a fast food restaurant where the kitchen caught fire.

(If he’d gone out to shop later on that day or went somewhere else…Sehyoon might not have been there.

Then again, **if** he’d gone with his first instinct--

Sehyoon never would have met _him_.)

“Officer...Kim Byeongkwan?”

Sehyoon as an on-duty firefighter almost never observes two officers chatting on-site, smoke rising from the charred building face.

Off-duty, though?

This moment he’s watching from afar is gold.

“Yessir! That’s me.”

An odder time, still, to watch these two jarringly different individuals.

“An officer of...the ‘Tourist Police’ branch?”

One was older, notably vexed, and much less enthused than the other to be here.

“Mm-hmm! You got it. Was it the uniform that gave me away?”

“N-Not exactly…”

The other - the officer who stopped in for his breakfast and nearly crashed into a daydreaming Sehyoon on his way out - was an excellent conversationalist.

Sehyoon discovered that much after he and Byeongkwan finished apologizing for sending Americanos and sandwiches flying in their collision.

They would have - probably - still been conversing now.

That is, if a fire hadn’t broken out in the kitchen just before they were about to sit down to finish their talk.

“Then...is it that I’m not exactly what you ‘pictured’ when you heard about the Tourist Police?”

Foot in mouth?

For what it’s worth, the other officer looks ready to take his own foot and kick himself.

“Oh! I-I wasn’t-- Not at **all** , please don’t misunderstand, m-m--”

“...It’s all good. You get used to it after a while. Different divisions, different expectations. Uphold peace for the people, by the people, whatever side of the city you end up on. Or in our case...whatever McDonald’s on fire you end up at.”

As flummoxed as the older officer is (Sehyoon squints, sees Son...something inscribed on his name badge), he gives a little chuckle at that.

Magical, really.

Byeongkwan is the perfect fit for an officer who works with the public.

“With any luck,” Officer Son shakes his head with a wan smile, “we won’t be at any other McDonald’s that catches on fire this weekend.”

A far-off senior officer calls out to Officer Son, interrupting their brief moment of camaraderie.

“Well. Sounds like...duty calls.” Officer Son gives a wry smile before turning on his heel. “Take care, Officer Kim. Thank you again for translating.”

“It’s my job,” Byeongkwan motions with one hand - to send him away, or to acknowledge his English skills? Maybe a bit of both. “See you when you’re in Hongdae again, Officer.”

Sehyoon waits until Officer Son returns to the other patrollers before he approaches.

And unlike when they first crashed into each other--

“So-- we’re officially green-lit to go, right? Nothing but ashes and some damaged property left inside, last I heard.”

Byeongkwan must have heard him coming.

“We’re all green,” Sehyoon confirms. “Fire’s been extinguished and the last scan of the building came up clear.” 

“Good! I’m glad.” Byeongkwan looks relieved. 

“So is the rest of our squad.” Sehyoon, well-versed in how to react to sudden crises, is just as glad. “Captain Kim asked why I was trying to work when I wasn’t in uniform. Told me I could go, that they had enough help to handle things here...”

“Sounds like there’s an ‘and’ attached,” quips Byeongkwan. Like he can tell it’s coming sooner rather than later.

“And,” Sehyoon shakes his head, “she practically chewed my ear off when I offered to stay behind and clean up.”

“God, I wish that were me.” Byeongkwan sighs, fidgeting with his black beret. “The not-in-uniform part, especially.”

Sehyoon laughs.

Byeongkwan pouts.

“Don’t be jealous. I’m not going back home yet. Before the place caught fire, I was on my way out for groceries and shopping for clothes...and now, apparently, breakfast. Can’t get Mickey-D's from here with the kitchen out of commission.”

His stomach growls, right on cue.

A humbling pause.

“Before _you_ end up out of commission,” Byeongkwan’s frown turns into a full-on smile, pretty rows of teeth on display, “go get yourself something nice to eat, Mr. Firefighter. After all that evacuating, emergency-calling, and Emergency-Responding, you deserve it.”

That gets Sehyoon to stop laughing, at least - more because he’s _flustered_.

“It was nice meeting you, too, Officer Kim.” Sehyoon says. Of course he means it. "'Til next time?"

(And of course, of _course_ , that smile comes back full force.

Like an arrow to the heart?

No, nothing that cheesy, just--)

"'Til next time," Byeongkwan grins, adjusts his beret just enough for Sehyoon to catch sight of pastel pink hair, "Kim Sehyoon-ssi."

* * *

It takes over a week before he meets Byeongkwan again.

Of course, Sehyoon happens to be on-duty this time.

He’s fresh from the station this time.

And still in uniform.

Late-night convenience store stop-ins for a quick meal are given when he works the 6-day run. 

Sehyoon has to stop in, because otherwise he won’t be able to function while working the hours he does.

Two 9-6 shifts, two 12-hour ones, and two days of rest following those four days.

He doesn’t do 6-day shifts often.

If he does, it's a favor to his Captain, their Chief, or a favor to only his close-knit friends on the squad. 

Otherwise, Sehyoon gets the “light duty” 3-day shifts. 

He’s used to that because that’s how he first started the job: 1 overnight, 2 days of rest, rinse and repeat cycle.

During longer months, though, he’ll end up on one of the “long stretch” 9-day shifts. 

That schedule is slightly kinder to his overall sleep routine: 3 daytime shifts, 3 overnights with a day of rest between each of the 3 overnights.

And no matter what schedule he’s on, Sehyoon is a creature of habit.

So when Sehyoon steps through the convenience store’s sliding doors and the usual overnight employees see him -- Kihyun and Changkyun -- he gets warm greetings and how-have-you-beens from the staff.

And when Sehyoon sees Byeongkwan off-duty, dressed down in a tracksuit and joggers--

“Oh! Look who it is...Itaewon Micky D’s Knight In Heavy Armor!”

\--Well, more like Byeongkwan sees **him**.

Byeongkwan must have watched him walking around this near-empty convenience store over five minutes trying to decide what he wanted from the lunch packs aisle.

Because Sehyoon doesn’t notice until someone taps his shoulder in line behind him and he turns around to look.

“W-Who...oh, we meet again, Byeong--...?!” From awkward formality, to startled recognition. “Your hair...is that a new color?”

“More like a recolor.” Byeongkwan takes his beanie off briefly, fluffing out his hair now dyed a darker shade of pink than it was before. “I was thinking of letting it fade out ’til I changed my mind. What do you think?”

“It’s. Really bright. Definitely...pink.” _Definitely p_ _retty_ , his brain supplies another adjective. He’s looking at the slightly upturned curl of Byeongkwan’s lips when he thinks about it, though. “I like it.”

“Good.” Byeongkwan preens. If he were any more pleased with himself, his shoulders might rise up to outer space. “It was either that or a dark red, but reds fade out fast. I wanted something a little more long-lasting, y’know?”

Sehyoon...can’t relate. 

The only adventurous thing he’s ever done to his hair is bleach it once.

That was during his one rebellious gap year after college. 

That was the year before he gave up the full-time artist struggle.

That was the year he signed up to become a full-time firefighter instead.

“You’d...probably want it to last.” Sehyoon can understand that much. “That way, less recoloring.”

“Exactly!” Byeongkwan nods, shoving the hat back on his head. “8 to 10 hour shifts, not to mention overnights...you don’t really have that kinda time or energy after working like that.”

“Can’t relate.” Sehyoon thinks he can afford a dry remark here or there with someone as informal as Byeongkwan. “Are you working overnight too--?”

“Kim Sehyoon-ssi.” Kihyun chimes from behind the counter, clearing his throat. When Sehyoon whirls around, however… “Are you done chatting it up with Pretty In Pink here, or should I keep your Yakult in the cooler some more?”

Kihyun smiles, no, _sneers_ at the conversing pair.

Then, Sehyoon feels someone brush **past** him.

“Ki-hyung! Sorry we were ignoring you while we were catching up.” Byeongkwan, amicable, swings his liter-sized water bottle at him as hello. “Long time no talk for us too, though! How are you and the fur babies and Lover Boy doing?”

 _Excuse me_ , Sehyoon thinks, eyes gone wide before he blurts out loud: 

“Lover Boy...!?”

“I’m fine, so are the puppies, and Hyunwoo is doing well, too.” Kihyun - the most tight-lipped person Sehyoon’s ever known about his personal life - brightens when he answers Byeongkwan. Smiling ear to ear, like Byeongkwan made his entire night by asking. “Things’ve been good for us these days, Byeongkwan. No complaints here.”

“I had to ask! Cherry and Rocky are the cutest twins ever and y’know how I feel about Show-hyung.” Byeongkwan is beaming. “Speaking of Show-hyung, I heard the studio’s been busier these days now, right--”

It’s Sehyoon’s turn to clear his throat and tap Byeongkwan on the shoulder.

It puts Byeongkwan on pause.

Kihyun gets interrupted by the way Changkyun nudges his back with the broom handle.

“And you call _me_ a gossiper?” Changkyun sniggers. “Also, looks like we’ve got some new competition in the Sass Department.” 

“...Hi.” Undeterred, Byeongkwan waves to Changkyun now. “I don’t think we’ve met yet officially? I’ve seen you work here a couple of times...Kim Byeongkwan, Tourist Police. And I know Ki-hyung knows him, but I’m guessing you know--”

“Sehni-hyung? Yeah, I’ve seen him around here plenty before. He’s a regular.” 

Once he’s propped the broom up against the wall again, Changkyun’s...what’s the word for that look again? Sehyoon knows-- ah, right, _leering_. 

“Hard to miss somebody like him. Well. Maybe not for me...”

Kihyun glances between Changkyun and the pair standing close together.

Byeongkwan, suddenly pressed close to Sehyoon’s side **clutching** his arm, bristles like an angry cat.

Sehyoon, equal parts embarrassed and amused, swears Byeongkwan might start hissing any second.

“O- **_kay_**!” Kihyun shouts, dispelling the staredown between Changkyun and Byeongkwan - and Sehyoon, when beckoned, hurries to put his lunchbox and drink on the countertop. “Let’s get you both checked out here! That way, no one gets their heads chopped off...and I don’t lose my job.”

* * *

(“I’m not really a Yakult person. You wanna have mine?” Byeongkwan holds out the tiny bottle to him.

“Sure.” Sehyoon takes it and drops it in his own plastic bag.

“And,” Byeongkwan asks him, quieter this time, “can I call you ‘Sehni-hyung’ too?”

He didn’t know - up until Kihyun started talking to him - that Byeongkwan was younger than him.

Before they both part ways again, Sehyoon thinks he should ask Byeongkwan a question of his own.

“Sure.” In the same beat, Sehyoon decides _fuck it, guess I’ll shoot my shot after all_. “Do you want my number to call me, too, in case you want to ask me any more questions?”

Sehyoon tries not to laugh - though he grins - when Byeongkwan starts hopping in place.

“Yes _please_.” Byeongkwan purrs. “I thought you’d never ask.”)

* * *

Yesterday, Sehyoon woke up from a strange dream.

Nothing new, nothing changed.

He’s had plenty of strange dreams before, especially when he sleeps late into the day after overnight shifts.

Sehyoon’s a dreamer in his waking life, so it’s not much of a stretch of the imagination for him to have full-on adventures in his sleep.

But the dream he had the other night? 

That one was _wild_.

He was chasing something. 

Someone. 

An animal, he guessed at first.

And when he finally picked up his running speed to where he could catch up to it, Sehyoon realized he was **right**.

The little four-legged creature he had been chasing...it’s fur coat was pink. 

A bright, garish, near-neon pink. 

Out of all the colors possible--

Dreams were always symbolic, right?

Representations, manifestations, epitomizations of everyday life.

There had to be a reason why the rabbit was such a bright pink color, Dream Sehyoon thought as he chased on.

It was a pink...rabbit, at first. 

That was what he thought it was, anyway. 

Long ears rounded. 

Then, vaguely pointed.

And _then_ , they run and run and run. 

Chasing, chasing.

Who was chasing whom?

Sehyoon couldn’t tell.

They rounded corner after corner, moved past tree clearing after tree clearing, deeper into the forest.

Until--

Something Strange begins to happen.

As they ran on, he watched the rabbit slowly transform before his eyes.

From the size of a rabbit to the size of a large housecat.

From a large house cat to...a fox?

The rabbit transformed into a cat, a fox, and skidded to a halt at the cliffside’s edge.

This rabbit-cat-fox...creature.

They came to an empty clearing, at last, where the creature skids to a halt.

It waits for Sehyoon to catch up, to catch his breath.

And then, the creature pads over to approach him.

When Sehyoon at last finished gathering himself - hunched on his knees, gasping for air - his eyes met the not-fox’s eyes.

Eyes that were...more human than beast.

Pretty, he couldn’t help but think. 

Very pretty eyes.

Bewitchingly bright eyes.

The moment their eyes met--

( _Music...?_

Why was there suddenly music...

A song, unfamiliar yet unfamiliar…

Ringing in his ears, burning, intense pressure in his temples and pushing on his eyelids…

Forcing him to close his eyes because, **_god_** , his head felt ready to split open--)

\--was the same moment when, through his blurred-turning-dark vision, Sehyoon swears the fox’s eyes were aglow before it smiled and winked at him.

* * *

When Sehyoon awoke from his dream, his Soul Mark ached like he’d been splashed with boiling water while he slept.

Before he fell back asleep, Sehyoon drank a full liter of water and two cups of tea, in hopes of settling his nerves.

Enough to fall back into a dreamless sleep, at least.

* * *

An hour later, Sehyoon does manage to fall back asleep.

The next morning, Sehyoon will feel perfectly fine, well-rested and at ease.

That is, until he catches sight of his Soul Mark’s shape - on the upper half of his arm, nearing his shoulder - in the mirror.

Until Sehyoon sees his Mark change from a single eighth note to a microphone held by two hands intertwined.

Until he remembers - like the pain that struck when he woke from that dream, like the drumming in his temples at the revelation - how Byeongkwan laced fingers with his in a hi-five before they parted ways not forty-eight hours prior.

* * *

They stay in contact throughout the rest of the month of April.

All of May, too.

At first, they’re in contact via text. 

Once, **maybe** twice weekly. 

They have busy work schedules, so Sehyoon doesn’t think too much of it.

(If he does, then he’d force his mind and his heart to agree that every night shift feels less unbearably long when Byeongkwan’s messages keep him company.)

Then, the longer May stretches on without them crossing paths, they’ve progressed to talking almost every other day.

The _how-have-you-been_ s, slow but steady, turn into _check-this-out_ s and _this-reminded-me-of-you_ s and _can-i-call-you-instead_ s.

Once the _can I call you_ becomes a regular weekly occurrence, on top of the texting near-daily...

Well. Sehyoon doesn’t mind it. 

Not one bit.

He wishes they could talk for longer, wishes he could stop having to cover other peoples’ shifts so he could meet up with Byeongkwan and talk to him in person again.

(If only, Sehyoon realizes with a miserable rush of endorphins over another unexpected Byeongkwan selfie, to see that strikingly beautiful face again.) 

Still, it’s - usually - Byeongkwan who reaches out to him first.

The first to send a message _just because_ , to drop him a late-night - sometimes early in the morning - with a _life update_ or _a meme that may or may not be relatable to you too_ that Sehyoon either gets immediately or needs to be explained three times over before Sehyoon gets it and **howls**.

The first to call him on a whim, claiming that he Needed to because he _felt like hearing a rational human being_ or because he _missed the level-headedness of The Amazing Sehni-Bot._

Sehyoon appreciates that. 

Appreciates _him_ and all the ways Kim Byeongkwan so effortlessly coaxes him out of his shell.

Sehyoon’s not the type to initiate things, preferring to give the other person as much as he receives.

In friendships, too.

That’s how he and Donghun stayed friends beyond their high school and college years.

“So...you haven’t tried to text him first? Not even once?” Donghun scans over the chat log on Sehyoon’s phone - not with express permission, but he’s taking full advantage of his shoulder perching. “Other than the initial ‘hi it’s Sehyoon, the firefighter you were high-key flirting with in McDonald’s the other week’ text, I mean.”

“I didn’t send-- he wasn’t flirtin-- I-I just sent him a ‘This is Kim Sehyoon’ with an emoji?!” 

Sehyoon didn’t think he was _that_ loud.

Except his protest earns him several glances from nearby patrons.

“What emoji,” Donghun snorts, patting his head, “did you send?”

Sehyoon attempts to slide further into their shared side of the booth.

He makes a blatant attempt (a show, really) of not meeting Donghun’s stare.

“Accidental emoji,” Sehyoon clarifies at length. Sighs, because Donghun **still** hadn’t stopped staring. “It was a robot.”

“Cute.” Donghun lets out that soft little huff-laugh he does. The Hyung Laugh, Sehyoon calls it - a technicality of barely three months. 

“He sent an image back,” Sehyoon adds. “To show me what he saved my name as in his contacts. He put the robot emoji next to my name.”

“Which was?”

“Which was-- what?”

“Your name in his phone. What was it?” Donghun reaches over and snatches Sehyoon’s soda (whether it’s on purpose, Sehyoon can’t tell) and his face wrinkles with disgust after one sip. “Ugh! It’s flat. No wonder you weren’t drinking any more.”

“‘He saved me as Sehni-hyung,’ remember?” The corners of Sehyoon’s mouth quirk at the memory. “He almost got into it with Changkyun over the nickname.”

“Speaking of nicknames...I call you Sehni-bear sometimes.” Donghun takes hold of his own lukewarm coffee, downs the rest of it before smirking. “Should I do that when I meet him? He sounds like he’d be fun to mess with, if he takes bait like a fish to a hook--”

“ _No_?! Don’t-- don’t do that, he’d definitely--” Sehyoon feels like a drowning ant in a puddle. “If he calls me that, I-- I never should’ve told you anything.”

“Why? You don’t want me to piss off your not-boyfriend? Again, the damn Hyung Laugh... “Or your gay little heart can’t handle your not-boyfriend giving you pet names this early on?” 

That gives Sehyoon reason to pause.

“Whoa. Whoa there. Hold on. Aren’t you and Junhee already pursuing somebody else? A possible ‘third’ or...something?” 

Sehyoon’s eyes narrow while Donghun’s turn to half-crescents at the mere mention of his longtime lover. 

Smiles wider when Sehyoon mentioned the current apple of their eyes.

“And what about it?” Donghun sits upright, chin tucked under his hands. “The way it sounds to me, this Byeongkwan won’t have you feeling jealous of Junhee ’n me for too much longer.”

“...I-I’m not--” 

“Envious, then. Whatever. Point being: he likes you, he’s **extremely** obvious about wanting to be close to you, and you’re only fooling yourself if you’re denying it.” 

Donghun taps the bridge of Sehyoon’s nose before pushing up his glasses further up onto his. 

“And. Even if... if he’s not your Soulmate, so what? If you learn something from the experience, you’ve already won. Have fun with it wherever it goes, Sehyoon-ah.”

“Wherever, huh...” 

Sehyoon is-- 

Disgruntled?

Disappointed? 

At himself, maybe, at his own transparency? 

“Yeah, yeah. I know-- you’re waiting on The One, you’re hoping to find your Soulmate someday.” 

Donghun isn’t dismissive; he knows Sehyoon, just as Sehyoon knows him. 

“Sure, but--” 

“But. While you’re waiting...you’ve got an old soul, I know, but you’re not **_that_** old. Explore a little. Experiment. Live a little.”

“I don’t--”

“C’mon. Trust somebody who’s lived several months longer and known you this long…” Donghun’s cadence is as warm as his smile. “You of all people could stand to take a few risks.”

All of his arguments fall in the face of his best friend’s warm smile rising.

How could he argue, when Donghun’s seen him through high school, college, and multiple (failed) attempts at casual dating in their working years?

“I’ll text him tonight first when I have a break,” Sehyoon says, and then - when Donghun perks up - “Before he sends his usual ‘Saturday night update.’”

“Usual? You guys have a routine established already?” Donghun grins. “ _Whipped_.”

Sehyoon snatches his straw wrapper off the table corner--

\--and (almost successfully) sticks it up Donghun’s nose.

* * *

**To: 🦊 BK**

When’s your next day off?? 

**From: 🦊 BK**

soon ???? why

**To: 🦊 BK**

There’s this new comic café that opened up close to the station…

supposedly the atmosphere’s really good there and so is the coffee. 

One of my squad leaders mentioned it the other day.

**From: 🦊 BK**

!!!!! say less!!! ! ! 

im off next weekend (woo woop) 

lucky me & lucky u too ☆*。★ﾟ*♪ヾ(☆ゝз・)ノ 

**From: 🦊 BK**

what days best ?? 

time doesnt matter bc im Always Ready ᕙ༼*◕_◕*༽ᕤ 

**To: 🦊 BK**

LOL I believe that. 

I’ll send the address closer to the day of. 

**To: 🦊 BK**

Speaking of day…

how about next Sunday, any time after 10 or 11 AM maybe? 

Whatever time works for you. 

**To: 🦊 BK**

Unless you want to come along for my morning run plus gym stop at 7. 

**From: 🦊 BK**

owo whats this…

is this… 

sehni hyung asking me out on a date?

**To: 🦊 BK**

…...So 

are you learning toward 10, 11…

or...7?

**From: 🦊 BK**

7!!!!!! 

lets work out tgt ᕦ(ò_óˇu

aka me staring @ u? while u lift ? (bc i weight train on fridays)

and/or while u do laps on the treadmill ?

and/or maybe spotting u? 

**From: 🦊 BK**

only if u want me to tho 

(hint hint: u cant stop me bc i want to) 

˖⁺⑅(´⌣ `ʃƪ) >>

**To: 🦊 BK**

I...

**To: 🦊 BK**

I may be reconsidering my invitation now... 

**From: 🦊 BK**

oh? am i. 2 much 2 handle 4 u, mayhaps? (*＾∀ﾟ)ъ 

**To: 🦊 BK**

I...

Am Definitely reconsidering now. 

-____-;;

**From: 🦊 BK**

໒( •́ ∧ •̀ )७… 

**To: 🦊 BK**

Don’t pout. I can hear it from here. I was *kidding.*

**From: 🦊 BK**

:: ˓(ᑊᘩᑊ⁎) :: 

**To: 🦊 BK**

Fine. You can come on my morning run. 

and any and all circuits I do at the gym.

**From: 🦊 BK**

(๑✪ᆺ✪๑)!!!!!! I CAN!!!!!!!?? OMG

**To: 🦊 BK**

but. .. 

I won’t be held responsible 

for how people look at you weird for staring at me… 

that’s all on you.

**From: 🦊 BK**

fuck their judgement sideways!! idc!! do not give a shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just getting to hang out w/ u & talk & spend time tgt is Good Enough 4 me (₌ ꈍᆽꈍ₌) 

**From: 🦊 BK**

see u @ 7 next sunday?? text me next week where u wanna meet and i WILL be there! 

**From: 🦊 BK**

(wait. ur break ends soon y/? )

**To: 🦊 BK**

See you Sunday :] 

**To: 🦊 BK**

Yeah I Have to get back from break soon so I’ll ttyl. 

**To: 🦊 BK**

Oh. I forgot to say: 

good luck with your presentation at the preschool!

Try not to scare any small children today if you can help it. ㅋㅋ

**From: 🦊 BK**

i’ll try my best

byebye se-hyungie! ty!

cant wait to see u sunday (-“^^”)o

**To: 🦊 BK**

You’re welcome o^_^o 

And me too.

**From: 🦊 BK**

(-“ㅅ”)o❤

* * *

The next person Sehyoon sends a message to - after he’s cleaned up the pencil shavings and scattered papers he’s flung everywhere in the station lobby in celebration - is Donghun.

When Donghun doesn’t answer him right away - because, that’s right, he works at the theater tonight - he sends a message to Junhee instead.

What he gets back from his frantic _so I just asked my crush out on an unofficial date not expecting a yes and he said yes and sent me a heart before we stopped talking so now WHERE THE HELL DO I GO FROM HERE_ bulletin is...

It's, well. 

Less surprising, more enlightening:

**From: Jun 🐦**

GO ON THE DATE, OBVIOUSLY! 

It’s not really surprising at all.

**From: Jun 🐦**

If Hunnie were here, you know he’d say the same thing! 

They’d been a couple for…a year?

Maybe a year and a half now? 

It’s no wonder they’re beginning to resemble each other.

**From: Jun 🐦**

Go, go! Go on your not-date, have fun, be safe (😏) 

and Priority Number 1 is to ask if he wants a Date Number 2 

before you let him go home!

Sehyoon hadn’t even considered the possibility of a second date.

**To: Jun 🐦**

Thanks, Jun. I have until Sunday…

hopefully everything will go well on Unofficial Date Number One >_<

That’s my only priority right now.

* * *

( _For now_ , he thinks.

That part he doesn’t dare to type out.

That’s about as far as he dares to hope.)

* * *

After jogging around the surrounding neighborhood area, Sehyoon and Byeongkwan spend their cool-down time riding on the subway side-by-side.

Sehyoon thought - after they’ve spent nearly two months getting to know each other, growing closer through texts and phone calls - that they would run out of things to talk about by now.

He worried about all last night and this morning, before Byeongkwan met him at the closest station-adjacent convenience store.

“Next question! Dogs or cats?”

Clearly, Sehyoon had nothing to fear.

“Dogs, probably? Not a fan of cats...had one practically maul me when I was a kid.”

“Ouch.”

“I mean, I’m...over the fear now. Haven’t had a bad experience with a cat since, either. Just not my preference.” Sehyoon takes the easy way out. “My turn. Cats or dogs?”

“Either! Cats or dogs, doesn’t matter to me! Both are good pets… uh, maybe cats? By a margin...thiiiiiiiis small.”

 _Should I humor him_ , Sehyoon thinks, _I wonder..._

“...I can’t see between your thumb and pointer.”

Byeongkwan doesn't miss a beat.

“ **Exactly.** My. Point.”

“Hmm...I can’t see it, so. Is it really a point after all?”

Byeongkwan’s legs swing back and forth, swaying with the motion of the traincar.

Sehyoon looks down at them, distracted by bared legs - because, well, loose shorts make sense in weather this humid at May's end.

It's a shame Sehyoon's too busy committing the arch of Byeongkwan's ankles and muscular calves to memory.

“Hmm...maybe. Maybe not.” Not taking the bait, Byeongkwan straightens up in his seat. “Anyways-- my turn again!”

“It is. So? What’s your--”

“--Chicken or beef? Wait. Wait, hyung, let’s both say it at the same time! One, two--”

“--Chicken!”

“Chicken!”

They get so involved in their Random Question exchange, they almost don’t get off the train on time.

‘By a margin...this small,’ huh?

Maybe it’s as small as the protesting screech from Byeongkwan when Sehyoon breaks into a run unexpectedly, calling for a race from the station exit?

Or how Sehyoon trips over a bump in the sidewalk, regains his balance in a rather impressive hop-step-stumble, and lets Byeongkwan dash ahead the rest of the way to Kim’s Gym?

Or how Byeongkwan can’t help but toss his head back and laugh over Sehyoon’s pratfall, pretends he can’t get up, and only accepts Byeongkwan’s hand to help him up when the younger man’s cackling fades off?

(Or, maybe, it’s the fleeting thought that Sehyoon has that - by far - his favorite laugh in the world comes from Kim Byeongkwan.)

* * *

At the gym, everything plays out almost exactly like Byeongkwan described.

Almost.

The events happen somewhat out of order. 

It's weights, treadmill, and then cooldown stretching at the end of their hour at the gym.

And Byeongkwan...does quite a bit of staring.

All while he chatters away and spots, too.

Sehyoon finds it impressive, but he also finds he doesn't know what to make of the staring.

Does it count as flirting?

Does it only count as flirting if it all reads as casual as Byeongkwan _is_?

Does it only count as flirting if Sehyoon acknowledges or reciprocates it?

(He'd be downright rude if he didn't respond to Byeongkwan's questions, though.)

"...knew each other since you were fourteen? Byeongkwan goes from riveted to impressed. "He's like family at that point, practically."

"That's the way it feels like." Sehyoon's wry smile accompanies a question in return. "How about you and that room...apartment-mate you mentioned?"

"Roommate works! And...you mean former roommate? Yeah, Channie 'n me don't go that far back...it's been maybe seven years since we met back in high school? Yeah. Seven years now. We met when I was in 2nd year, I think, and he was in 1st…”

_Wait a sec--_

_Just the other week, wasn’t he talking about his roommate ‘Chan’ still?_

‘Former’?” Sehyoon starts to lift the weighted bar back up to rest, stalls when he hears that. “You’re not living together anymore?” 

Byeongkwan helps Sehyoon lift the weights the rest of the way. 

He’s...sullen, mouth drawn up in a straight line, eyes on the paneled carpet.

He’s gone fully quiet, Sehyoon realizes, for the first time since they met up today.

“Former,” Byeongkwan confirms. “We were roommates, up until a few weeks ago. It wasn’t, ah, a falling out? Nothing like that. I knew he planned on moving out eventually, just didn’t know when. And then, earlier in the month, he told me the situation and he...moved out. And that was it. Kinda knew it was coming, but it was pretty sudden.”

Ah.

Sehyoon feels sorry to have brought it up.

He isn’t sure if an apology would help, either.

“I’m sorry,” Sehyoon scoots out from the bench, sitting upright. “Did he move out to live alone, or…?”

“No, he. He went to live out on the east side with somebody else?” Considering, contemplating. “Well, two somebodies. Not too far actually...about thirty, thirty-five minutes away from here? Channie’s over in Hannam now. Hannam Heights Apartments… I think that’s what the place was called.”

_Hold on._

_In Hannam?_

_Wait a_ **_second_** _._

“The friend I was talking about, Donghun…” Sehyoon meets Byeongkwan’s inquisitive stare. “He lives in Hannam.”

“He does?” Byeongkwan brightens somewhat, hearing that. “That’s cool! Maybe Channie and your friend could make friends too--”

“No, no, wait. I mean. He...Donghun lives and works out of Hannam now because he transferred jobs. Moved in with someone there...in Hannam Heights.” 

“Oh?”

“The person he’s living with, I...they both were, ah, talking to someone else about moving in with them.” Sehyoon tries not to think it’s a coincidence, but he has suspicion. Reason to suspect, reason to believe. “Someone with a ‘Chan’ in their name.”

Byeongkwan jams a hand in his pocket, fishes out his phone with a wild look.

“Hold on. Sehni, hold **on**.” Now he’s...smiling? Sehyoon can’t keep up with all these shifting emotions, let alone the way his own head is spinning. “Is the Yuchan I know the same one you know?”

“I haven’t met him yet. But I’ve seen pictures of him from Dongh--”

Byeongkwan shoves his phone at Sehyoon’s face, nearly hits him square in the nose.

“Whoops, sorry, my bad-- hyung, _look!_ ” Byeongkwan’s voice drops to a low whisper, but he’s not...actively trying to keep his voice down. “Is this him or is this not him?”

Sehyoon sputters when he sees the photo of Byeongkwan and Yuchan set as his wallpaper.

“Well. Good news for you,” Sehyoon says, after a long pause that adds to Byeongkwan’s anticipation. “That’s him. That’s the one.”

“It is? Yes?!”

“I’m two-hundred percent sure,” Sehyoon begins to laugh, surprised and elated all at once, “that’s the same Yuchan my friends took as their third.”

Byeongkwan’s hand -- and his phone -- drops.

That's a few second's difference before Byeongkwam gets half the gym to look at them for leaping around, dancing in place, and **screaming** in joy.

For a tense minute that passes without either of them moving or speaking, Sehyoon worries they’ll get kicked out of the gym next.

At the reception desk past the glass enclosure, the two young women sitting behind the counter are staring, too.

“...H-Hey, so. After we go to the comics café, if you’re not too tired...let’s go!” 

“Go _where_ now?”

“Hannam!” Byeongkwan seems to have recovered from his earlier embarrassment fast; he hasn’t sounded this peppy -- or this endearing -- since he was outside with Sehyoon giving his number to him that night. “I’ll text Channie and ask if he has anything going on later and ask if he wants to meet for a late lunch!"

"Maybe..."

"Maybe...if we’re lucky, I can meet that friend of yours you mentioned. And the other,” Byeongkwan's eyebrows lift and lower suggestively, “‘roommate’.”

Sehyoon lets out a choked laugh.

“Like the video you showed me yesterday?” Sehyoon snorts, takes on an emphatic tone. “‘And they were roommates’...”

“...‘Oh my god, _they were roommates_.’ Basically!” 

Byeongkwan giggles out the rest of the quote.

And then, he grabs hold of Sehyoon’s hand, stifling the snappy comeback the older man had planned. 

“Time to walk the treadmill now?” Byeongkwan chirps, lacing fingers with Sehyoon. Like the way his voice dips into a lower register when he leans in closer isn’t already enough to have his heart feel like it’s about to fall out of his **_ass_**. “Or is it cool down time? Or...should you ’n me just…go somewhere else?”

“What,” Sehyoon has to stop - to keep his throat from drying out more - and consider, “do you want to do?”

Like he wasn’t already doing enough of a number to Sehyoon’s poor heart with the mischief lighting up those eyes.

Bewitchingly bright eyes.

Like--

“Your call.” Sehyoon realizes Byeongkwan hasn’t let go of his hand. Holds it tighter, even. If they get any closer-- “I’ll follow your lead.”

* * *

Sehyoon might have made - several - mistakes today.

Accepting the offer for Byeongkwan to spot him while he lifts - that was Sehyoon's first mistake.

Taking in the sharpest inhale before scrambling to his feet, mumbling something about _the bathroom_ before shuffling awkwardly away - that was his second.

Probably, not being bold enough to flirt back when their faces were barely ten millimeters apart - that was a third. 

(Pretending he didn’t notice Byeongkwan’s cheeky grin and wave before he escapes for the front lobby’s restrooms - that’s Sehyoon’s biggest mistake of them all.)

* * *

The comics café turns out to be the perfect setting for them both.

After grabbing a quick lunch at the café’s food bar, Sehyoon and Byeongkwan reserve a bunk in the ‘attic’ of the designated reading area.

It’s not meant to - nor designed - to fit two adults their size.

“Cozy,” Byeongkwan comments. “Sure you don’t want to get closer and sit next to me? You’d have more leg room that way.”

His feet and Sehyoon’s feet kept bumping into each other as they took their places at either end of their little cubicle.

The space was theirs on reserve for a solid two hours.

The two hours were decided on at Byeongkwan’s request.

Well, it was partly because the younger one _insisted_ on paying and refused to let Sehyoon even pull out his wallet.

“You’re right.” Sehyoon decides to relent, because. Why not? Side by side reading...that’s a harmless activity. Innocent. He doesn’t feel on edge because he doesn’t like the idea of being close, more that-- “Don’t complain if I still smell like sweat, though.”

“I won’t~” Byeongkwan shows off his pinky. A promise.

Sehyoon...trusts him, but--

“Granted, we aired out before we got back on the train...and you let me borrow that cologne...”

“I know~ Don’t worry, you’re fine. It’s nothing I haven’t smelt before.”

 _Thanks_ , Sehyoon fights back the urge to reply, _always nice to know even you stink sometimes._

\--But he doesn’t want that to come off wrong, either.

He decides on not saying anything, crawling over - and into - Byeongkwan’s space.

The moment Sehyoon opens his book to read, he feels something brush against his shoulder. 

Then, the weight of--

_Oh, he’s leaning…_

“Is this,” Byeongkwan asks, hesitant, “okay?”

Byeongkwan starts to shift away--

Sehyoon winds an arm around his waist.

Like it’s instinctive.

_He’s…a lot more. Solid than I expected._

_\--Which, of course, you dumbass. He told you himself he works out ‘a lot.’_

_Maybe not a Good Thought for the time being, because that just reminded me of the post-workout selfies he’s sent too._

“No! It’s...It’s okay.” Sehyoon tries not to think about how his face **feels** like it’s been set aflame. “I don’t mind.”

He’s...never been good at this. 

Words exchanged and actions returned in the flirting department are worlds apart. 

Byeongkwan, though--

“...Good. M’glad.” Byeongkwan leans against him with a pleased sigh, snuggles up to Sehyoon so close he’s convinced Byeongkwan could hear his pulse drumming away in his head. “I knew you’d be warm and toasty, but! I _had_ to test the theory!”

“That I’d be warm and toasty?” Sehyoon decides it’s better to focus on what he’s reading. If he could at least attempt to focus... 

“That,” Byeongkwan hides his face in the space between collarbone and shoulder, then looks back up at him with a grin, “and the fact you’d say yes.”

_Like I could ever say no to that face._

“Theory proven,” Sehyoon chuckles, pats Byeongkwan on his head, and goes back to reading the book perched on his upright knee. “Now go read your sports manga, nerd.” 

Byeongkwan, for his part, sticks his tongue out at Sehyoon.

Sehyoon sticks his tongue out back - though he waits until Byeongkwan flips open the first volume before he does.

He’s not too surprised when he gets elbowed in his side, none too gently.

Not surprised, either, by how Byeongkwan goes right back to reading like he did nothing wrong.

* * *

He _is_ surprised - because it happens a good twenty minutes later, when he takes a break from poring over art books to look up more about the authors on his phone - by how Byeongkwan slumps against him and dozes off.

What surprises him more is that - after Sehyoon gently eases him back onto the nearby pillows - Byeongkwan only wakes then.

“It’s okay,” Sehyoon reassures him - not the way he did earlier when Byeongkwan wanted a cuddle buddy while he reads. Gentler, calmer. With confidence. “We’ve got about an hour more here, if you want to catch some Z’s. I’ll be here. When it’s time for us to go, I’ll wake you up then.”

Byeongkwan...

He really does remind Sehyoon of a fox.

Like one out of a storybook, cunning and curious.

“Thanks, Sehni-hyung.” He’s catlike, what with the way he lifts his head and blinks slowly. Fixes Sehyoon with a stare that’s damn near unreadable. “Keep my phone on you, too? If anyone texts me other than Channie, don’t worry about answering ’em.” 

“And if it’s Yuchan?”

“Tell him,” Byeongkwan takes one of the piled pillows in the corner and drops it on Sehyoon’s lap. Flops himself on top of the pillow **and** Sehyoon in effect. “I’m cat-napping.”

“An hour’s an awful long catnap,” Sehyoon retorts, not expecting an answer.

Byeongkwan doesn’t answer, settling his pillowed head more comfortably on Sehyoon’s thigh.

The tiny snores he hears - several minutes later - tells him Byeongkwan’s fallen right back asleep again.

“Sleep well,” Sehyoon says, the hand placing aside Byeongkwan’s askew hat gentle and carding through Byeongkwan’s messy red hair for the rest of their allotted time, “Kwan-ah.”

* * *

Sehyoon tries his best to ignore the faint burning sensation of where his Soul Mark flares with pain.

He feels it radiating up the back of his arm, resting against the wood framework of the bedposts behind him.

Faint, dull, like an oven left on low heat.

Sehyoon keeps scrolling on his phone, intent on ignoring it, because he can’t move on account of Byeongkwan sleeping in his lap.

Even if he could...he won’t risk anything by not double-checking what’s going on. 

(He can’t.

He doesn't have any proof.

He can’t trust his intuition, not when he knows Byeongkwan told him before he doesn’t have a Soul Mark at all.)

* * *

They end up not meeting up with Yuchan, Donghun, and Junhee later on.

As it turned out, the trio had made plans to stay in for dinner after their respective jobs - and classes, in Yuchan’s case - finished up for the day.

Byeongkwan seemed disappointed, though.

“We had a pretty full day out,” Sehyoon reminds him. Feels he should remind him of that, all things considered. “You’re planning to stay out from 7 AM to 7 PM?”

“No, I’m. Pretty tired out to be honest, but-- this could’ve been _the_ moment for all five of us?!” Byeongkwan huffs, petulant. “I mean...I _guess_...we can take The Friendship Test when we all meet downtown. Two weekends from now, yeah?”

“Two weeks, yeah. Sunday, though, not Saturday. So technically it’s--.” Sehyoon notes Byeongkwan is still clinging to him like a koala bear. Still groggy, most likely. “Anyway, I have work up until Saturday that week.”

“I know...”

Silence.

At least, Sehyoon notes, it’s another comfortable one.

They’re on the ride back to their respective stops when - halfway there - Byeongkwan admits he was tired because he didn’t sleep well last night.

“Kept having weird dreams.” Byeongkwan doesn’t just wrinkle his brow; his nose wrinkles with his show of distaste. “I might’ve been... a teensy bit nervous about today.”

“Nervous?” Sehyoon feels him nod against his shirt. “About...me?”

“No. Not...you. You don’t make me nervous. I was--” But the way Byeongkwan swallows, the way his fist curls against Sehyoon’s sleeve… “--Never mind.”

_Is this…a good time to ask him?_

_Better yet, is it the Right Time to ask him?_

“Did you think,” Sehyoon stares out the train window, “I’d stand you up?”

Byeongkwan shakes his head. 

Furiously.

“I know you wouldn’t.” 

“Is it,” Sehyoon asks, “anxiety?”

A pause, and then...

A single, solemn nod.

“It’s,” Byeongkwan lets out a hollow bark of laughter, “pretty stupid. Getting stuck in your own head, not being able to find your way out.”

“It’s not.” Sehyoon can empathize, but more than that-- “If that’s how you felt, that’s how you felt.”

“I shouldn’t have _felt_ like that, though.” Byeongkwan murmurs. His fist clutches at his shirt now. “You wouldn’t do that to me. I know we’ve only known each other two months...almost three...but I know you aren’t that kind of person. I don’t know why...”

A loss for words?

No, nothing like that.

“You don’t have to have a reason,” Sehyoon finds the rest of his words after a thoughtful pause, “for why you felt the way you did. Feelings are-- they’re valid no matter what. It’s how you act and react to people that’s important at the end of the day.”

The train car slows to a halt, jolting them both into sitting upright.

They were leaning on one another the entire time.

Sehyoon hadn’t been conscious of it until he started to get up and head for the sliding doors.

“I’ll follow you!” 

Byeongkwan already decided before they started heading back to this side of Itaewon that he would walk out with him.

“S-Sure. Meet you at the station gates if we get separated, I guess?”

They do end up losing sight of each other for a minute or two.

Still, Sehyoon doesn’t have to slow down his gait much for Byeongkwan to catch up.

“Thank you.” 

With or without an explanation attached, Sehyoon understands.

“You’re welcome.” He’s smiling when he opens his arms for Byeongkwan, who slingshots himself into Sehyoon for a hug. “Text me when you get back to your apartment safe.”

“I’m not too far!” Byeongkwan seems reluctant to leave Sehyoon’s hug, but he backs up and his hands start moving wildly while he explains. “Once I get off at Noksapyeong, it’s a quick walk to the bus stop, and then it’s smooth sailing the rest of the way! Well, bus...riding, I guess. Whatever.” 

Ah, there we go.

Now _that’s_ more like the carefree Byeongkwan he knows.

“Glad it’ll be that easy for you.” Sehyoon’s relieved smile isn’t only for that, but. He’ll leave it at that for today. “Get back safe, then. And…see you in two weeks, I guess?”

“Two weeks, fourteen days!” Byeongkwan beams. “’Til next time, hyung! Get back safe and text me when _you_ get back to your place, ’kay?”

“I will.” Sehyoon gives him one last wave, looks over his shoulder as he goes. “Goodnight!”

* * *

Once he’s back in his apartment, the first thing he does after telling Byeongkwan he’s inside is set his phone to charge on the bathroom counter.

When he gets out of a long shower - because holy shit this summer heat **sticks** to you - Sehyoon is just in time to see his notification light and his lock screen flicker to life.

It’s Byeongkwan letting him know he got back safely...

With something else attached.

**From: 🦊 BK**

guess who?

ᕙ༼◕ ᴥ ◕༽ᕗ

it’s itaewons local heroes, back (home) again by popular demand!!! 

Sehyoon has to laugh-- not at Byeongkwan’s message but at the photo sent with it.

**To: 🦊 BK**

I can’t believe you saved this photo… (; ＞▽＜。)ノ

Why???????????????

**From: 🦊 BK**

bc !!!!!!!!

its so… Us !! 

(੭ु˙꒳˙)੭ु⁾⁾-(｡ﾉᗨ<｡)ﾉ⁾⁾*✭(๑´ㅂ`๑*) 

With the way Byeongkwan’s tongue protrudes slightly from his smiling mouth to the way Sehyoon’s toothy grin gets slightly cut-off by the awful front camera angle...

**To: 🦊 BK**

You know what. You’re right. It really is.

（＾ｖ＾）

That’s us!

(This selfie, he decides, will stay his lock screen for a very long time to come.)

* * *

In retrospect, Sehyoon should have known their first group outing together would be full of surprises.

More than him **and** Byeongkwan expected.

“Heyyyyy, Yuchan-gerine!! What is _up_ , ol’ buddy ol’ pal?!” 

“Heyyyyy yourself, Dark Cherry-kwan!! Nothing much, definitely the sky, a bit of the same ol’ shit different day!” 

Yuchan is exactly as Byeongkwan described his friend and former roommate. 

Yuchan runs to embrace Byeongkwan.

Byeongkwan, in turn, practically leaps onto him.

As Sehyoon climbs the last flight of stairs, he sees Junhee and Donghun trail after Yuchan.

When Sehyoon comes into view, their greetings are equally enthusiastic.

Especially Junhee.

“Well, well, _well_! You pushed your bangs back for once?! Donghun told me you were thinking about cutting them, but...” 

Junhee goes right up to him, poking the center of his forehead (“Did you have to--?” “Yes. Yes, I did.”) before pulling him into a tight hug. 

“Anyway, how are you? How’s work? Did you eat lunch or did you skip it again--”

“I've been alive. Existing. Ate lunch, you'll be glad to know. Mistake number one, though: deciding to push my bangs back _knowing_ you’d comment on it.” Sehyoon returns Junhee’s hug, not surprised when Donghun pushes his way in between to join their head-nuzzling. “Mistake number two...mentioning it to Donghun.”

“You know what, though? It’s you. Your face is your face.” Donghun pats his hair, not wanting to mess it up. “Seriously, I’m glad you took my advice! You look handsome no matter what, though.” 

Byeongkwan appears, then, with Yuchan in tow.

“Hi,” Byeongkwan says, overlapping Yuchan’s cheerful “hellooo!”

“Oh! Hi. You’re...Byeongkwan, I’m guessing? I’m Donghun. Nice to meet you.” 

Sehyoon prays Donghun won’t say anything too incriminating this early on, knowing that even if he _doesn’t_ , he’ll find an opportunity later on. 

He loves his friends, yes, but when it comes to this? 

Sehyoon trusts them as far as he can throw them.

“So this beautiful human I call mine is Junhee--” (“Stooooooop, Hunnie.” “He’s not wrong, Jun-hyungie!”) “--And...we both know Yuchan, you knew Yuchan before us. Six degrees of separation, essentially.”

Polite **and** cordial?

He must be going easy on Byeongkwan for now.

Which means Donghun will share snappy one-liners and embarrassing tales halfway into this outing.

“And you knew Sehyoon before me,” Byeongkwan concedes. “So maybe...six degrees of separation...plus, a half?”

“What? Is...is this supposed to be a riddle?”

Junhee not getting Byeongkwan’s offbeat humor doesn’t shock him.

Yuchan stifling his rising chortle as he holds the door leading into the place open doesn’t, either.

The way Donghun folds into himself, suddenly, _shaking_ with laughter?

That...leaves Sehyoon floored.

“Six...point _nine,_ maybe?” The second Donghun says it, Byeongkwan squawks - and he’s just as quick to give Donghun a high five. “Oh, man. We’re gonna get along real well, Byeongkwan-ah. I can see it now.”

 _I’m in trouble_ , Sehyoon thinks as he sends a perplexed Junhee a sympathetic look. _These two getting along this early on...Bad Sign for sure_.

Donghun and Byeongkwan aren’t the only ones who click right away.

Yuchan, turns out, is outstanding company.

Half the dinner spent at the bar counter, Yuchan spends next to Sehyoon without much fanfare.

It's...pleasant, to have someone as at ease in the quiet (aside from occasional guffaws over his lovers and best friend's banter) as Sehyoon is.

Sehyoon imagines when they do have a proper one-on-one conversation, it'll be worth the wait.

The other half, Yuchan spends on the other end catching up Byeongkwan.

Byeongkwan insisted - because for several months, he'd only thought Yuchan was dating one of the two - on the when, the where, and the how of his relationships.

Donghun and Junhee take turns (more or less successful) telling their parts of the story, filling in the gaps for Yuchan.

The music’s playing at _way_ too high a volume in the dining area.

It's not as loud later on, once they hit the bowling lanes post-game meals, thankfully.

So Sehyoon doesn’t catch everything that the huddled pairs said.

But he hears enough to put all the pieces together.

"...So, summary time: Chan tells me about a handsome guy he made fast friends with the TA in his Bio class months ago, tells me about hot guy at work less than a month later...and it turns out hot guy at work _an_ d hottie on campus were already placid marrieds and sweet winter child Chan gets **_both_** the guys of his dreams?!" Once Yuchan gives a sheepish smile and nods, Byeongkwan stands up and starts clapping. "Folks, we have ourselves here...one lucky bastard."

"I don't know." Junhee lilts, chin tucked under palm. "Personally, I think we're luckier to have found Channie." 

"No matter how you look at it," Donghun's gaze twinkles, "Chan-ah is our lucky clover."

" _Awww._ " Byeongkwan clutches over his heart. "And Junnie-hyung said it best-- he kept you together when the seas were getting rough for you guys, too, right?"

"He really did." Junhee is _besotted_ ; it's written over his face, as obvious as Yuchan settling himself onto Junhee's lap. "Our compass, our pretty-cute angel from up above. Or our gorgeous sexy little demonspawn. He can be both."

" _Hyuuuung_." If there's one thing Sehyoon learned about Yuchan, it's how his emotional maturity's matched only by how all his nonchalance fades when he's complimented. "Don't exaggerate - I was born on Earth!"

"Says you," Donghun chimes in, when Yuchan (playful, casual, like he's at home) lightly kicks at Donghun's ankles. "It's hard to believe when you look so out of this world, baby."

Sehyoon, admiring their open displays of affection, gets distracted by Byeongkwan.

Byeongkwan who...wasn't sitting next to to Junhee anymore!?

He...isn't expecting Byeongkwan to sneak up behind him (when did he leave the other side of the counter?) and pull him into an impromptu back hug then.

Or for Byeongkwan to stick his hands into the pockets of his pullover.

"Wh--"

"It's cool in here." It's an unnecessary explanation unneeded: Byeongkwan takes one hand out of a pocket, takes Sehyoon's own. "You're my go-to when I get cold, Mr. Warm and Toasty."

"How do you handle wintertime," Sehyoon teases him, good-natured, "if this is how a little A/C makes you react?" 

"Bad. Terrible. Might freeze this year if global warming keeps up, unless you can be my human heater for two to three months." Byeongkwan looks oddly pleased with himself; Sehyoon is hopelessly charmed. "Your Captain would hate having me clinging to you, too, I'll bet."

It's sometime between Byeongkwan reaching over to put down his drink and Sehyoon averting his eyes from the deep v-line of Byeongkwan's shirt that he sees--

Yuchan, expressionless and struck silent and staring _directly at them_.

"Hyung...Byeong-hyungie," he has to specify, because two other sets of eyes respond when Yuchan calls out to him. "Is. Uhh. Is there something **you're** not telling us?"

Junhee, typical, doubles over shrieking with laughter.

Donghun, the menace he is, does nothing to alleviate Yuchan's curiosity.

Byeongkwan, the menace _he_ is, decides to say nothing, using Sehyoon as his 'shield' from prying eyes and unspoken questions.

* * *

And Sehyoon?

He's, belatedly, beginning to think there's some things better left unsaid and unexplored in this world.

This is one of them.

* * *

Weeks and weeks pass and, for Sehyoon at least, the summer months _fly_.

More 9-day shift schedules, less 3-day shifts over summer will do that to a person.

At least once a month, he ends up being glad for the longer work weeks - because when he’s on day shifts, Byeongkwan might stop by to visit him.

First, on a day off.

Then, it’s a Wednesday routine after Byeongkwan discovers the information booth slash rest stop he spends half his week stationed is 10-15 minutes away from the station by bus.

“I didn’t know which station you worked at and I didn’t want to bug you about it...except I mentioned it to Junhee.”

“Ah,” Sehyoon says. That does explain everything.

He knew that - while Byeongkwan and Donghun connected the minute they met - Junhee was fond of Byeongkwan and had been the second they discovered their shared interest in dancing.

He also knew the that the two of them would meet up whenever their work-life schedules allow.

If he didn't know how tactile and sociable Junhee was with friends, Sehyoon would mistake Byeongkwan and Junhee's touchiness for Something More.

“Exactly. Twist his arm, let him talk your ear off about his work week and his boyfriends, and Junnie-hyung’ll tell you **anything**.” Byeongkwan plops into one of the plastic chairs with a smirk. “Anything.”

Sehyoon, once he’s finished with his equipment check, washes his hands before he takes a seat at the break room table.

He sits across from Byeongkwan, who motions at the bag of food he’s brought Sehyoon for lunch.

“Should I be concerned,” Sehyoon jokes, already digging into the plastic bag for the boxed meal inside, “you’re using my friends for information-gathering purposes?”

“No!” Byeongkwan gasps, like he’s said something scandalous. “Junnie-hyung is my best friend now too.”

Sehyoon pauses halfway to opening the container lid.

“And what about Donghun?” The longer he and Byeongkwan are acquainted - several not-dates downtown, even to the park and the botanical gardens - the more jokes Sehyoon dares to try with him.

“He's Best Friend tier too. And then some."

"...What Tiers?"

"Hyung Tier _and_ Chaotic Underneath The Soft Friend Tier. And my Number Two.” 

Sehyoon knows Byeongkwan means that - because he knows they talk plenty outside of their group chat - and yet. That's a new one he hasn't heard before.

That makes his eyebrows lift past his (now, maybe a bit) too long bangs. 

“...He’s my _Partner In Crime_ Number Two!”

“Let me guess,” Sehyoon chuckles, “Number One is...Yuchan?”

When Byeongkwan props his elbows up on the table, it’s with a dramatic flutter of his lashes.

It’s a motion that highlights the faint shimmer of eyeshadow over half-lidded eyes.

“ _Please_ ,” Byeongkwan simpers. “You of all people should know who my Number One is.”

“I...I do…?”

Byeongkwan, with his soft smile and fond gaze, was--

“I’m,” he declares, face cupped between his hands, “looking right at him.”

Sehyoon’s gimbap gets halfway to his mouth.

That is, until Sehyoon’s chopsticks fall out of his hands and clatter to the floor.

“K-- _Kwan-ah_ ,” he chokes out, “that...was foul play. Absolutely evil. Your Number Two must despise you.”

Byeongkwan, every bit as evil as described, throws his head back and **cackles**.

When he’s done, Byeongkwan gets up and steps around the table with his arms outstretched.

_A peace offering?_

“Nope,” Sehyoon crosses his arms with a _hrmph_ , turning toward the blinds. “I’m mad at you. You made me drop my gimbap! I’m withholding all the hugs until you apologize.”

“Seeeeeeeeeeeehni. Sehni, noooooooooooooo!” His full lower lip juts out and Byeongkwan does everything possible to win him over in the next minute - making sad faces, turning on the puppy eyes, headbutting. The works. “You’re the evil one for doing this to me!”

“Doing...what now?” Sehyoon is _completely_ messing around, of course - but he won’t budge first in this (however childish) game. 

"Seeeeeeehni--"

“Oh, my. Is that a tiny faraway voice I hear? Someone...I’ve already broken ties with? Because he wanted to be a mean ol’ bastard and make me drop a piece of my precious lunch?”

“Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeh-hyung!! Don’t be-- I need to start heading back soon, but I _need_ my dose of teddy bear Sehni hugs before I gooooooooooo~”

“...Must've been just my imagination,” Sehyoon decides he wants to push it further, pretending to look past Byeongkwan entirely. “I thought I saw the ghost of a friend I used to know...maybe...if I’d gotten a full lunch--”

Byeongkwan drops into his lap, derailing Sehyoon entirely.

At first, he freezes and goes fully stiff (among other things).

That is, until Byeongkwan decides to retaliate by _leaning in and biting his ear_.

“Captain Kim-B! I’m leaving!” Byeongkwan ignores Sehyoon’s disgusted yelp, skipping off to the break room doorway and shouting down the hall. “Officer KBK’s job here is done, so I’m heading back to the day base nowwwwww!”

He receives no response, of course.

Their Captain wouldn’t be in today until closer to the evening hours.

“Thanks for stopping by, Byeongkwan-ssi!” An EMT-in-training passes by to wish him well; Sehyoon vaguely remembers his name is Mingi. “Have a safe trip back to your day base or whatever!”

Byeongkwan perks up.

“Thanks, Mingsky!” Of course Byeongkwan would befriend even newbies at the station-- further proof he’s here way too often. “I'll head back soon! Just had to drop off some lunch for my Number One while I was in the neighborhood!”

“W-Who’s Number One-- _ohhhhh._ I see. I gotcha.” A flash of teeth, Mingi glances behind him and catches Sehyoon ( _dammit_ ) staring. “So that’s how it is, huh?”

“Glad you understand,” Byeongkwan chirrups, an airy thing. As is what he says next: “We’re going to the aquarium on our next day off, actually.”

Sehyoon...might be turning redder than red.

_Who the hell told him about--?_

“Who told you,” Sehyoon grabs wrapped chopsticks off the counter, sits back down with them to eat while panicking, “about the aquarium?”

“Channie did!” Byeongkwan spins about-face. “He didn’t say when, though...is that part the surprise?”

Sehyoon - internally - sighs in relief.

He never told Yuchan about the when or the why.

(He couldn’t do it.

Yuchan can keep a secret, he knows.

But the moment he mentions it to either Donghun or Junhee...it’s Game Over.)

“Part of it,” Sehyoon says, a wry curve to one side of his mouth. “Your next days off are…?”

“Two Sundays from now, the 24th! And two Sundays after that...whatever that is.” _Well_ , Sehyoon makes a mental note of the dates, _it’ll be extra time to get belated birthday gifts for him_. “Should I clear my schedule both days?”

It’s plenty enough time to finish making Byeongkwan’s handmade gift, too.

“Whichever works for you.” Sehyoon waves him on, because the clock posted on the wall tells him Byeongkwan really _does_ have to catch the next bus to the station. “Let me know what weekend works better and let’s go then? Thanks again for the lunch, Kwan-ah. Have a good day, alright? I’ll talk to you later.”

It’s rare that Byeongkwan falls into shyness.

Sehyoon knows - from what Byeongkwan revealed about his grade school years - he was quite the wallflower, once upon a time.

Difficult to believe, when he’s blossomed into the beautiful force of nature Sehyoon knows now.

“...Welcome.” Byeongkwan fidgets with all the keys and pager tied on his belt loops, then gives a quick shake of his head, and. Sehyoon doesn’t even _know_ what he did to deserve this. “Thanks for, um, just. Being here.” 

Sehyoon was very much enjoying his gimbap.

He has to pause, if only to point out the obvious.

“I mean. I work here,” Sehyoon deadpans. 

He keeps on munching, not expecting - neither was Byeongkwan, it seemed - to hear Mingi (plus a new high tenor from around the wall, which begs the question _why were they hanging around eavesdropping in the first place?_ ) letting out a **howl**. 

“Y-You know what I mean,” grumbles Byeongkwan. Self-conscious, and Sehyoon still has no idea why. Because they have an audience? “Today...feels better now that I got to see you, hyung...I-I really, y’know, you make me really, ahh, really--”

Sehyoon doesn’t think he’ll drop any more utensils.

Or food.

When Byeongkwan shuffles backward and **_dashes_** off with an abrupt _seeyoulaterbyehyung_ , however--

Sehyoon feels close to snapping his chopsticks in half.

* * *

(So he does, to the great amusement of Mingi and his nosy friend Wooyoung, and decides he’ll rewash his hands and eat the rest of his lunch that way.)

* * *

“Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, woooooooooow!”

“...Wow?”

“Wow. I am...wowed.”

“Say that again three times fast?”

“Shhhhhhh. Nobody asked for your sass.”

“...And...this is coming from the Sass Master himself?”

“Ha- _ha_. Veeeeeery funny, hyung. You’re a real comedy king.”

“So I’ve been told. By you and several other friends of ours.”

“... _Snrk._ ”

“So? Anything else you’d like to share with the audience, Captain Obvious?”

“...Not really?” 

“So,” Sehyoon has to ask, “anything else you’d like to say to **me**?”

Byeongkwan vibrates where he stands, though.

“I-- I do, actually?” But, no, it can wait.” Byeongkwan’s smile shines brighter than the sign posted over the glowing Lotte World Aquarium entryway. “We’ve got the whole day ahead of us! I’ll tell you later.”

Sehyoon wishes his stomach didn’t do a wild somersault, hearing that.

“Okay.” But it’s fine, it’s whatever. _It’s fine because as long as you’re happy, I’m happy._ “Later, you can tell me all about it.”

For Sehyoon, it’s been years since his school took a field trip here.

He doesn’t think Byeongkwan - having grown up in Yongsan, farther out west than this side of Seoul - has **ever** been here.

Maybe he never has, Sehyoon decides, watching how everything Byeongkwan encounters fills him like a balloon.

“There’s-- hyung, look, there’s otters! I wasn’t expecting to see these little cuties in a place like this…!”

Pure, unadulterated wonder and excitement.

Now there’s a look he’d gladly pay any amount to keep on Byeongkwan’s face, Sehyoon decides with a widening smile.

If it were possible, forever.

They spend what feels like half of forever walking along each exhibit, through the overhanging wall panels of fishes and other undersea creatures, past every towering tank.

They read some of the plaques-- 

Well, some of them.

Sehyoon tries to, at first.

He makes an honest attempt to, anyway, until he remembers Byeongkwan is a former Marine Biology major.

Byeongkwan knows more _fun facts_ and _trivia bits_ than any of the audio tour guides could offer.

It's later that day - after he's gifted Byeongkwan a new hat from his favorite outfitter, an hand-painted art print of his favorite anime series of the moment, a handmade keyring that's perfect for all he carries around at work, and a plush beluga whale he had to slip away during their lunch to retrieve from the cashier at the gift shop - that Sehyoon brings it up.

Again.

“What made you shift gears?” The topic came up several months back when college majors were brought up, but he never heard the why. “You’re so knowledgeable, it would have been a breeze for someone as smart as you to pursue it further.”

Byeongkwan shrugs.

“Money, at first. Parents, my big brother, ’n me all were born and raised in Yongsan - Huam-dong, close to Namsan, right on the edge of things.”

He knew Byeongkwan lived close to Yongsan's edge, but--

Sehyoon never knew he had an older brother up until now.

It’s when Byeongkwan continues that he understands why it never came up.

"We weren't poor or anything but we weren't rolling in money either. So we thought we'd be good by the time my parents were ready to retire and my brother was ready to go to the military."

"Me, I was 'the smart child.' High school into college, I really put my nose to the grindstone and was pretty far into a degree when my brother Seongkwan enlisted…”

“But,” Byeongkwan leans his forearms on the stairwell railing, looking skyward, “things went south, money-wise. Loans piling up from who-knows-where, I'm guessing bad financial decisions from my dad - as usual - and. Yeah."

"Next thing I knew, the studies were just. Too much. Especially when I couldn't find too many part-time jobs that would pay enough for a university student trying to foot the bills for one retiree and one parent with a disability. Either it was the career I dreamed of or police academy, which. My parents suggested..."

He doesn't need to finish.

Sehyoon wishes he would have never asked.

"What about Seongkwan?" Sehyoon remembers, then. "I know he had to enlist, but once your brother came back--"

"He got married," Byeongkwan cuts him off. With a bitter smile and a scathing remark to follow, "He got some girl pregnant, sometime between before he enlisted, and them getting hitched happened immediately after."

"After the baby was born, you mean?" Sehyoon feels...lost.

"After the baby was born," Byeongkwan draws his jacket closer around himself, until only his cherry-red hair down to his nose is visible, "he never came home to visit much. Even during holidays. Doesn't call much, same excuse always. That his office executive job keeps him overseas too much..."

"Not that he never contributes - he'd send money home, it helps, but…it felt like. I don't know."

From the way Byeongkwan's entire demeanor changed, Sehyoon doesn't believe him.

"You do know," mutters Sehyoon, startling the younger man. "Go on. I'm always here to listen, you know that." 

Sehyoon hopes that Byeongkwan believes _him_ , though.

"...I knew I shouldn't have felt like it was all on my shoulders. But...I knew nothing would change if I stayed with my parents all my life, too. The academy put me in the Tourist Police, and. That was the 'last straw' for me. I decided: _enough disappointments, I'm gonna make the world move for me_."

Sehyoon admires that drive, that vivacity.

One of the many reasons Sehyoon's crush turned into full-blown infatuation.

"And...so you did." Sehyoon watches Byeongkwan - slowly, surely - begin to lift his shoulders again. "I'm guessing that's when you chose to move in with Chan, then?"

"Basically. Channie suggested sharing his apartment space with me and..."

"You had to say yes, pretty much?"

"...How could I say no, when it was the first 'out' I had?"

"And...how was your parents' reaction?"

"--Way better than I expected. Maybe 'cause I told them I'd send money to them still, maybe 'cause they knew I was ready to escape."

"Or...y'know what.” Byeongkwan’s hollow laugh is only half of it - he’s staring at the ground but his eyes are misty. “Maybe it was. Me. Just me, stuck in my own head as _usual_ , thinking my brother betrayed everybody by being a selfish bastard. And me, thinking I'd be less of a burden to people if I were the opposite."

Sehyoon looks at the ground now.

They both sit in silence, reflecting on that.

Wondering whether the 'right' thing to say is the wrong way to think.

Wondering - if 'wrong' for Byeongkwan is being 'selfish' - if now is the 'right' time for Sehyoon to encourage him in that.

"Being selfish," Sehyoon reassures him, "isn't the worst thing in the world. You need to be sometimes...for self-preservation. For survival, even."

"...Maybe."

"Definitely. It worked out alright, didn't it?" 

"...About as good as it's gonna get, probably."

Sehyoon makes use of the metal railing beside him, pulls himself up with it to stand. 

A swift turn, a palm outstretched.

"It’ll get better, wherever you’re at now. You said it yourself. You'll make the world move for you." Sehyoon reminds him of Byeongkwan's own resolution. "Whatever direction you want to go, whatever it takes...you'll make it happen. It's not over until you decide it is."

He remembers wise words his own father told him, a long time ago.

He remembers, too, the first phone call he made to his parents back in Gwangju when they heard he graduated college in Seoul.

_Life is a matter of mind over matter._

_This is just step one on a long trek uphill, Sehyoon-ah._

_You'll be halfway up the mountain by the time you realize you_ **_had_ ** _the power to make it all along...ever since you made it from step one to step two._

"...This--" Byeongkwan appears...exhausted? Sheepish? Maybe it's both emotions taking over. "--isn't the heart to heart I was hoping we'd get to today."

"Oh! That's right," Sehyoon recalls. "You said you wanted to talk to me about...something when we first got here. What was it?"

Byeongkwan accepts Sehyoon's waiting hand.

Everyone needs that sometimes, don't they?

"It was," Byeongkwan doesn't hesitate, "sort of related? I...wanted to thank you. For everything...every single damn thing you do as a person, as a friend. For listening to me, for putting up with me…"

Sehyoon wonders if he's the one being filled like a balloon - swelling with pride, with affection.

With self-consciousness, as well, when Byeongkwan sinks into Sehyoon's offer of a hug.

"You're amazing, Sehni." He knew Byeongkwan needed this. It shows - how Byeongkwan relaxes immediately into a gentle hand at the base of his spine, how skinship speaks louder than words for the both of them. "I...I'm really really glad that I have you now."

Sehyoon--

His otherwise solid heart **_melts_**.

(His Mark, like always, flares in response.

He's gotten used to it by now, has a high pain tolerance as is.

Again, he thinks of the old wives tales about unrequited love and how Soul Marks are supposed to hurt more when the person you love doesn't reciprocate.)

"I'm glad you have me," Sehyoon says, sincere, "and I'm gladder to have you."

* * *

If it is unrequited, Sehyoon thinks he can live knowing that.

As long as Byeongkwan is happier moving forward, he can stand to fall behind.

As long as the person he loves is happy, he'll find another path on his journey uphill - one way or another.

* * *

It's an entire month later, October, when they can meet again in person.

It's...an unexpected side effect of each of them taking on new non-occupational ventures.

For Byeongkwan, it's diving headlong into twice-weekly dance classes.

Sehyoon, by contrast, has finally set up a proper portfolio website, a blog, and has already taken on his first few requests and commissions.

Their hobbies - or personal passions, as Sehyoon likes to call them - aren't the only thing that keeps them going, these days.

The heart-to-heart they had at the aquarium...did something.

Byeongkwan jokes it's the power of the keyring that Sehyoon gifted him for his birthday. 

"It's like...an amulet. My little good luck charm." Byeongkwan puts it right up to his camera lens - as if Sehyoon doesn't have in his mind the same crowned lion design engraved on the leather strap. "I wear it on me all the time. I'm gonna end up keeping it forever, for your information."

"If you insist." Sehyoon is still getting used to video calls, while Byeongkwan's only struggle seems to be cutting them off and going to bed when he says he will. "And if your 'amulet' breaks?"

"Then...I'll wait for you to make another." Byeongkwan yawns, placing the phone at his bedside drawer before disappearing - and then reappearing - with a giant comforter and pillowcases.

"You might have to wait until Christmas," Sehyoon warns. "Most of my art projects other than commissions are on hold. The station's been _struggling_ lately."

"Why?"

"Something about this season I guess? We've got people dropping out of the race like flies, catching colds, travelling, having personal emergencies..."

"Yikes." Byeongkwan goes out of frame, fussing with his pillowcases now that he’s laid out his blanket. "Maybe you should take a vacation next?"

Sehyoon knows it's time to remind Byeongkwan to get some rest.

Rather, Sehyoon knows if he doesn't, Byeongkwan might keep them both up for another hour.

"...How's work been treating you, speaking of?"

"Ugh, _horrible._ Our division's been all kinds of booked and busy this month and last! We've got a real big event coming up. The Global Festival’s a Big Deal for the Tourist Police. My partner squad’s handling the annual presentation and parade appearances, but. My squad has to do the annoying job this weekend… surveillance is never fun..."

"Wait a minute," Sehyoon feels a bit foolish for not figuring it sooner. "You guys have to work...for...a-at Global Fest?"

"Uhhhh, yeah? Obviously? Tourist Police, hello?" Byeongkwan seems confused to see **him** confused. "Tons of people'll be at the festival, foreigners included! Not to mention all the locals looking for entertainment--"

“No, I mean--” Sehyoon eases back onto the sofa. “You’ll be there this weekend too?”

A beat.

Byeongkwan - finally back in-frame, tossed all his pillows up to the headboard, and crawled under the blanket - _immediately_ kicks his way out of bed.

(He's lucky he didn't end up like his poor kicked blanket, sent off the bed.)

“Stop. **_Stop,_** that’s--? You’re not pulling my leg, right? Right?!” 

“I’m on standby duty with a few EMTs on Saturday and Sunday,” Sehyoon confirms. Smiling when he sees how excited Byeongkwan looks. “Why? You want to pair up and do surveillance with me that day?”

“I can’t believe,” Byeongkwan retrieves his comforter with a certain mischief-making toothy grin Sehyoon missed, “you of all people are convincing me to say fuck the police and have fun.”

Maybe, Sehyoon realizes, Donghun _was_ right.

Maybe he did need to learn how to take some risks.

“It sounds like you’re already convinced,” Sehyoon tells him with an equally wicked smile, “so why would I try and stop you?”

Nestled under the covers again, Byeongkwan reaches over to bring his phone closer to him.

“You can try,” Byeongkwan singsongs, nose scrunched as he puts the camera up to his face, “but I’m gonna do it anyway~”

Sehyoon laughs.

“You...are sounding more unhinged by the second. Go get some sleep.” Byeongkwan sends him finger hearts and - right after that - blows a kiss. “Good night, Bratty Kwan...sleep well and don’t forget to set your alarm.”

“I won’t! Goodnight, sleep tight, and sweet dreams...” Byeongkwan hums, smiling from ear to ear. “My Sehni hyung.”

The call cuts off, then, unexpectedly.

It’s so abrupt that Sehyoon jumps.

The shock leads to confusion, which leads to…

Feeling flustered

No, not only that, but--

_Goodnight, sleep tight, and sweet dreams…_

_My Sehni hyung._

* * *

By the time Sehyoon’s registered his phone’s slipped out of his hands, it’s long after he dives under the flipped-over blanket, knocks the device to the carpet, presses his face into the pillow, and lets out a muffled **_scream_**.

* * *

Itaewon Global Fest always feels like an elaborate block party rather than a weekend-long festival-in-the-park setting to Sehyoon.

Three years in a row, he’s felt that way.

Two years in a row, Sehyoon was just another attendee among the festival crowds.

Usually, he goes because he’s gotten dragged out by Junhee and Donghun, occasionally feeling like a third wheel throughout.

This year, Sehyoon is--

This year, Sehyoon has a job to do.

“ _But then when I hear you calling me, I feel loved, I feel so speciaaaaaaaaaal~..._!”

But Sehyoon isn’t sure how he’s supposed to do his job when Byeongkwan is twenty feet away doing the full choreography to the song blasting through the streets, an impromptu performance for a small semi-circle of passerby.

Especially when Byeongkwan, in uniform, is _gyrating_ his hips like it’s his side hustle.

 _Who_ **_is_ ** _this guy? He’s super-talented!_

_What’s his social media? I need to see other dance covers ASAP…_

_Dude, I dunno shit about Tourist Police, but this guy’s got the choreo down on lock an’ key!_

Once the song finishes, the cheering and hooting from everyone gathered around fades off.

Eventually, the lingering ones - who stay to chat with Byeongkwan, who encourage him to open up an SNS account and flatter him enough to make his ears go pink - disperse as well.

“Having fun, Officer Kim?” 

Byeongkwan brightens at Sehyoon’s approach, spinning around to him.

“You found me!” 

_You’re a hard person to miss_ , Sehyoon wants to point out. 

Byeongkwan’s hair is a more vibrant fuschia this month, even harder to miss under his hat than usual. 

“And here I thought I’d find you on Surveillance Mode.” Sehyoon moves in to adjust Byeongkwan’s beret, hastily shoved back on his head after he finishes dancing. “Or at the very least pretending to be.”

“Me? Low profile? **_Never._** ” Byeongkwan doesn’t give off a Serious aura today in the slightest; if anything, Sehyoon can feel the energy radiating off him. “I came here to have a good time...Lieutenant Kim.”

While his Captain was the one who recommended him for the promotion....

“I’m not a Lieutenant yet,” Sehyoon shoots back. “She has to clear it with our department Chief first. And then he has to assess my performance compared to the other Units--”

“But you’re well-liked at the station. All the probies and firefighters and EMTs and drivers I talked to think you’re amazing and handle emergency situations like a champ.” Byeongkwan sparkles. “I think you’re amazing.”

 _No..._ y _ou’re the one that amazes me._

“Enough about my not-yet-secured promotion--” 

Change the topic, Sehyoon decides. 

“--Let’s...talk and walk? We can check the main square for suspicious activity and pass some time until the parades start.”

“Sure! Let’s go...hmm, let’s finish our perimeter walk at where they’re setting up the concert stage area? Heard they’ve got some DJ plus rapper combo performing later.” Byeongkwan sounds...interested. Like he’s considering joining the audience ranks tonight. “Maybe we’ll catch them doing a soundcheck session to test the speakers or something!”

“Lead the way,” Sehyoon says, no objections.

Byeongkwan takes his hand and does exactly that.

As they walk around, they start catching up on what they’ve missed over the days they haven’t seen each other.

They talk about various workplace misadventures - and people politics, more prevalent in Byeongkwan’s position than in Sehyoon’s - they haven’t mentioned over texts or video calls. 

They talk about the last time Sehyoon met up with Junhee, Donghun, and Yuchan - more recently than Byeongkwan, whose first day off in over a month would be the upcoming Monday - and how he’s considering bleaching his hair soon.

“You? Going **_blonde_**?” Byeongkwan balks. “Or are you lightening it to dye it another color?”

“Maybe...I'm thinking of. Possibly ash blonde.” That was Donghun and Yuchan’s suggestion, but Sehyoon doesn’t plan to tell Byeongkwan that. “Why, what color were you thinking of?”

“Hmmm…” Byeongkwan moves aside for a line of people coming from the other direction, stepping out and then onto the main square’s tiled path again. “You’d be a really cute blonde...or, if you wanna try something really eye-catching, silver?”

Sehyoon...might still be stuck on the _really c_ _ute blonde_ remark.

“S-Silver...? I’ll think about it.” He doesn’t want to commit yet, not when he hasn’t fully dedicated himself to bleaching his hair in the first place. “What about you? Still thinking about half-and-half magenta and black hair?”

They’re finally at the end of their ‘patrol’ route.

The stage platforms aren’t fully set up yet, it turns out.

And - aside from some scattered staff - the concert area of the festival is empty. 

Eerily quiet, too.

“Mmm...Maybe, maybe not?” Byeongkwan, pensive, leans against one of the nearby columns, close to several mounted speakers and spotlights. “I’ve been thinking about going back to natural black for a bit. Then, maybe I'll try out a color I’ve never done before once it’s spring again.” 

“What colors haven’t you tried?” Sehyoon hovers, choosing not to rest against the nearby poles.

“Blue or green? Well, one time I gave mint green a test run for, like. Two weeks. But dark green or blue would be real different. A new look.” Byeongkwan looks up at Sehyoon, peeking through the magenta fringe. “Maybe...we could pick the same shade or color and match, one of these days?”

“I’d like that.” Sehyoon - he really would. Without a doubt. “I’m more inclined to green myself, but we’ll talk about it after winter’s over. Springtime--”

“We can take a trip together, even?” Byeongkwan’s just...bursting at the seams with enthusiasm today, isn’t he? A nonstop idea bank. _Adorable._ “Maybe Junnie-hyung, Donghunnie-hyung, and Channie can go with us, too!”

“Sure.” Sehyoon doesn’t mind the company, of course. He knows Byeongkwan **thrives** in a group setting, but especially with the friends they all share now. “Let’s aim for a weekend trip in spring. It’ll be perfect.” 

“Perfect! Yep! But, y’know what, if it’s just the two of us, that’d be totally okay with--”

Byeongkwan stops his rambling when, overhead, a loud _screech-thud-SNAP_ rings out.

A hush, accompanied by a few confused shouts from the audio tech staff members carrying sound systems across the stage.

Then--

That's when Sehyoon _hears_ it.

Sehyoon hears the sizzling cable lines before he sees one falling from above them, another, and **another**.

"Kwan--!" 

Just by calling out, it startles Byeongkwan into flinching away.

Fast reflexes - and Sehyoon's warning - were all that kept Byeongkwan from a nasty encounter with a live electric wire.

Fortunately, a narrow miss **is** still a miss. 

Fortunately.

"Whoa! Nice looking out, Lieutenant!" Byeongkwan takes a couple more steps away, laughs, and their shoulders _both_ sag with relief. "Thanks to you, tonight, the show will go on...!"

Unfortunately--

He'd spoken too soon.

Sehyoon - too busy shaking off the adrenaline felt from the missed live wires - doesn't get to warn Byeongkwan.

That is, before the light panels above Byeongkwan start tumbling down.

* * *

Three things exactly Sehyoon registers in his brain before his vision goes dark:

  1. The way he's able to lunge - surprising himself - and cross the distance between where he'd been standing and Byeongkwan.
  2. The way the light panels crunch and **_crash_** when they hit the dirt and the metal framework grazes Sehyoon's back - where, in the heat of the moment, that familiar burning sensation starts up again - before landing in a gnarled heap of shattered debris.
  3. The way that - in what feels like slow-motion, the momentum rolls them both far away from the wreckage, Byeongkwan trapped safe in the firefighter's protective hold - Sehyoon ends up slamming his head against the foot of a pole.



* * *

(And, ah, of course…

The last thing he'd hear before he passes out would be that.

Byeongkwan's tearful voice, calling his name over and over, makes him wish he could say _sorry_ before he--)

* * *

"......Wakes up?"

Oh.

"Not...likely scenario, unless…"

Oh?

"...tusion, no…...ssion, which……nother fortunate...…"

Wait.

What?

"...ing that, signs don't point…...concussion... no actual head trauma, which……"

Where…is he?

"...Actually, not…...recovery time can vary………"

Where did he go?

"So…...several weeks of bedrest recommended........."

Where did he end up?

"And...well…….so......ately? Thankfully, apart from some minor bruising? He should be alright to-- oh!"

"Seh-- Sehyoon-ah!! Thank goodness, you're…!"

"He's awake! He's up! Hunnie, wait! Call Byeongkwannie so he knows and can come by after work, oh my _god_ \--!"

"Hyuuuuuung! You're alive! You survived, you're awake, and-- a-are you awake? I- I know some people sleep with their eyes open, so--"

"...Chan. Hey. I'm awake." Sehyoon croaks out, positively hates everything about his dry throat protesting that. 

His head feels a _lot_ of heaviness...

Fuzzy, too

But Sehyoon has more to say, and so, **so** much more he has to ask. 

"Jun. Wait, pause. Don't let hyung-- Kwan...Byeongkwan, is he okay? He's safe? Where is he right…?"

"I can't believe. 'Byeongkwan'? That's what you're worried about, the first thing out of your mouth-- Sehyoon, if he wasn't okay, _why the hell would I be calling him right now_?"

That's when Sehyoon processes--

Donghun scowls, phone up to his ear. 

He's clearly been waiting for Byeongkwan to pick up on the other end, impatiently tapping his foot while he does. 

"Seriously. We all knew you were Soulmates from the get-go, I could totally feel how In Love the both of you were, and. Now we all have confirmation of it, because we saw the matching Marks, but...come **on**."

Wait.

Wait, wait, wait.

Come again?

 **_What_**?

"I...what?" Sehyoon isn't sure he heard that right. What with the slight ringing in his ears - fading fast, but still - he might have heard Donghun wrong. "Uhhh. can...can you. Uh. Repeat that last thing you just said?"

"...Um." Donghun looks like he wants to bolt. "Wait. Shit. I wasn't supposed to tell--"

"...Repeat? Please?"

An awkward pause.

The doctor, with a forced laugh, excuses himself and exits the hospital room.

Junhee, alarmed, flails his arms at Donghun and (too late) slaps his palms over Donghun's mouth.

Since he's currently indisposed (and, once again, attempting to call Byeongkwan), Donghun simply shakes his head at Sehyoon.

"Yep. That's my Hunnie-hyung. Spoiler King," Yuchan announces, all too _amused_ by his friends' antics. 

But he's a Good Boy, so Yuchan shares what his lovers refuse to explain.

"So. Uh. Funny story? When they checked you in and checked for injuries on your arms and back...all four of us saw your Soul Mark."

Sehyoon...

He has an idea where this might be going.

"Thing is, though...the second he saw it, Kwannie-hyung...he passed out."

Well…

That was what he thought.

"Wh-- What?"

"I mean, it wasn't...obviously that's not the funny part?! Not _funny_ -funny, like ha-ha, funny--! Definitely not funny in the moment, 'cause we were all freaking out, to be honest, a lot--"

"I...I can imagine." 

"But yeah. So when Byeong-hyungie opened his eyes about ten seconds later...that's right, he didn't pass out, just got super dizzy from the pain... suddenly, he-- he lifted his shirt sleeve a little, lifted it some more, showed us his bicep, and…boom! There it was! His Soul Mark, finally after waiting all those years..."

Sehyoon can't keep his heartbeat from skipping.

He's surprised the heart rate monitor hasn't pickled up on it.

"Take it easy, hyung." Yuchan smiles - always earnest, energetic, like a retriever ready to run around the backyard - and taps on his phone several times to get into his photo gallery. "Here. Look at this. Guaranteed this'll make you feel better!"

Sehyoon, with slow shaking hands, takes Yuchan's phone from him.

"Hopefully," Yuchan scoots back to the end of his cot to give him some space, "this makes your whole year…hopefully gets you ready to give BK-hyung The Speech as soon as he gets here, too. 'Cause it looks like both of you have a **_lot_ ** to talk about."

The photo is--

Well.

There's no guesswork involved in a picture as clear as this.

It's a microphone with two hands entwined, alright, the spitting image of Sehyoon’s own.

"Oh! Good, you picked up, thank fuck-- Byeongkwan, listen! Good news: he's awak-- yes, I mean him as in Sehyoon! Y **es** , I mean your hero, your man, your Soulm-- no?? No, I don't? He's-- no, no way, I wouldn't dream of it, you--"

The indistinct yelling they can all hear, though Donghun hasn't switched to speakerphone is... 

"Donghun...babe, Byeongkwan doesn't sound like he's up to listening to you. You...might as well give Seh-hyung the phone," Junhee chides him, resting his cheek on the slope of Donghun's shoulder. "It's fine. Let them do what they have to, Hunnie. It's their time. Their turn to take the reins."

Sehyoon...his cheeks grow warm while he watches them.

He watches as Donghun's honeyed gaze softens at Junhee's coaxing.

He watches Yuchan stare at the huddled pair with all the world's fondness.

He watches as Donghun, relenting, holds his phone out to Sehyoon before - with a sigh and a roll of his eyes - pressing on the screen for 'speakerphone' mode.

"...his stupid, gorgeous, perfect face, and I'm gonna hold it in my hands like its my whole entire world - because it is, _he_ is - and **_then_ ** I'm gonna make sure I tell him, make sure he hears me this time, 'cause! He has to! He has to hear me this time when I tell him, because--"

"--Tell me what," Sehyoon struggles to keep himself from laughing, "Kwan-ah?"

Silence.

Apart from, anyway, the strangled squeak that echoes from the other end. 

"Well," Donghun murmurs, like he isn't smiling while snuggled up to Junhee, "get fuckin' wrecked, Byeongkwan." 

"Kwannie," Junhee doesn't have any semblance of a poker face, but he's incredibly good at masking his emotions in a phone call. His voice is even, never once betraying his shit-eating smirk. "Word of advice from your other favorite hyung: you...might want to rethink your confession speech on the way over here. Just saying."

"Y-...Y-You okay there, hyung?" Yuchan is doing _terrible_ on the Not Laughing front, failing to stifle his snorts as he keeps going. "You know, you were...o-on...s-speaker practically the whole time, my guy…"

Another - oddly - tense silence answers.

Then, footfalls in what sounds like the parking garage nearest to the fairgrounds.

And then, the repetitive _slam-thud_ of car doors.

And **then** , along comes Byeongkwan's response:

"I. I hate each and every one of you. Evil, evil bastards. Except for Sehni, obviously, because he saved my life. Also the love of my life. But the rest of you? I hate you all so, soooooo much--!"

"Love you, too, Byeongkwan-ah!" Donghun calls out, making Yuchan _and_ Junhee shriek.

"Travel safe, Kwan-ah." Sehyoon takes the phone off speaker, then. Even if it doesn't really matter at this point. "Took you off of speaker just now by the way. W...We'll talk about everything else when you get here. I--I'm looking forward to it."

Sehyoon can almost see it - the way Byeongkwan's eyes shine when he's anticipatory, the way his teeth reveal themselves when he doesn't try to hide his smile behind his hand. 

Sehyoon can't wait to see him.

"...I can't wait to see you, too, baby." And oh, **oh** , that was new and different, for sure. And absolutely welcome. "Wait up for me, please? I'll be there in a half-hour! Promise! Don't fall asleep again before I get there, okay?"

They have so, _so_ much New and Different ahead of them to discover, really.

"I won't," Sehyoon replies. He hasn't stopped smiling, though there's moisture gathering at the corner of his eyes too. "See you when you get here...Soulmate."

* * *

The sentimentality doesn’t last for long, after he hangs up the call.

After that, Sehyoon gets the breath knocked out of him by all three of his friends running to pile-hug him in a congratulatory fervor.

* * *

Though it takes more coaxing from Yuchan (and, notably less patient, Junhee), Donghun leaves Sehyoon’s side once Byeongkwan sends him a text to say _I’m here_.

“No eavesdropping, either!” Junhee sends his older lover A Look and none-too-gently drags Yuchan out the door by his jacket hood. He turns back to holler, “I’ll make sure you two have your privacy! They have to listen to me...Or Else!”

“‘Or Else’... _what_?” Donghun counters, never one to back down from a challenge.

“Or Else,” Junhee returns, a wicked shout, “you’ll take my chores **and** Yuchannie’s chores for this week and next!”

Sehyoon sends himself into a full coughing fit laughing over Donghun and Yuchan’s chorusing wail.

God, he thinks once he catches his breath, he loves his friends.

Even if they are a mess.

(They’re a good bunch, though.

Better friends than Sehyoon deserves.)

He takes note of his surroundings some more while he waits, familiarizing himself with his hospital room. 

He finds out the time from a glance at his bedside clock, where they’ve laid his phone to charge - in the closest corner, atop an armchair posted by a curtained window.

He’s glad to see, ah, there’s the bathroom-- the door’s left slightly ajar and the light’s left turned on, however. 

Meaning either Yuchan or Junhee who used it before he woke up; Donghun’s a bit uncomfortable using public restrooms.

He thumbs through the nearby hospital cafeteria menu while he waits, maybe ten minutes more.

More than a bit anxious, thinking, fearing the worst.

And then--

“Finally. Holy fuck. I’m here! That receptionist wouldn’t stop yapping with his friend in the lobby...and then the stupid elevator took forever...!”

Sehyoon’s whiplash turns from the window (which, from his head down to his neck, _oww_ ) to the sound of Byeongkwan’s voice.

Byeongkwan, still dressed in his uniform, looked as relieved to see him as Sehyoon _felt_ to see **him**.

Visibly glistening with sweat, Byeongkwan was every bit as stunning when disheveled as Sehyoon thought he'd be.

“It happens. Murphy’s law,” Sehyoon quips. “Also..why does it sound like there’s an ‘and’ attached to that?”

“Is there?” Byeongkwan blinks, then - as if just realizing - lets out a short barking laugh. “I mean, apart from The Obvious?”

“Apart from The Obvious...”

Byeongkwan giggles.

“We,” Byeongkwan intones, walks over with an easy stride and drops unceremoniously at the foot of Sehyoon’s bed, “were both ob _li_ vious, weren’t we?”

Sehyoon can’t argue that.

“We were.” Denying the obvious, pretending not to notice the signs, stuck in a loop of self-denial and _what-if_ s. “Can I...you’ve seen my Mark already, haven’t you?”

“I did. That time we got rained on at the Botanical Gardens and had to run to find cover. Weather forecast said nothing about rain, you were wearing a light-colored shirt, and I was-- I’ll admit, I was definitely looking at your arm when I was holding onto you real tight, but. I wasn’t looking for **that**.”

“But,” Sehyoon wants to be sure, before he embarrasses himself further by struggling with the top of his hospital gown, “you’ve seen it?”

“Yeah.” Byeongkwan is...staring at him now, expression unreadable. “I know Chan took a pic of mine, and I’m guessing he showed you, but...”

Confusion is Sehyoon’s initial reaction when Byeongkwan removes his jacket and then moves to lift his uniform shirt.

Then, panicked when he peels it off **entirely**.

“God, stop. You’re so fuckin’ cute-- relax? _Chill_ , I’m not getting naked! Not...for that? Not yet, anyway.” Byeongkwan laughs, when Sehyoon’s eyes practically bulge out of his head, “I’ll put my shirt back on later! After...I wanna let you see.”

Byeongkwan shifts along the edge of the mattress, careful not to accidentally sit on him, and turns to the window to let Sehyoon have a better view.

A broad and muscular back greets his admiring eyes first, the fruits of labor sewn after long hours spent at the gym thrice weekly.

Down from his solemn face Sehyoon’s gaze travels, admiring and anxiousanxious _anxious_.

It isn’t until he looks for the Soul Mark that he sees it.

He sees - exactly - the outlined shape of what Yuchan's phone photo showed him earlier.

The same exact Soul Mark as his own.

“Incredible. It’s the same tattoo, down to the last detail. The only difference I’m seeing now,” Sehyoon observes, “is that yours has gold ‘ink’ lining, not silver.” 

His wayward fingers reach out to touch.

Wait. 

He retracts them just as fast, because-- he should ask, shouldn’t he? 

“Don't be afraid..” Like Byeongkwan read his mind. Sehyoon shivers - at the thought, at the knowledge _that’s what the legends say Soulmates can do, once they’re together long enough._ “Go ahead, you can touch. That’s part of why I took my shirt off. I’m all yours.”

Again, that feeling.

“...Saying that is. Putting me between a rock,” Sehyoon comments, rueful smile forming, “and a hard place. Both meanings intended.”

When he touches it - at last - the way it glows makes them both smile.

It glows like a painted sunset: pink, yellow, orange. 

All colors Sehyoon associates with him.

“...D-Don’t--” Byeongkwan’s laugh is light but he’s embarrassed. Rightfully so. “Listen, mister. This was your opportunity to see my Mark better. Not an opportunity for me to bonk you with the Horny Police Bat.”

“So you admit,” Sehyoon can’t _help_ himself, “this situation reads like it’s worth a Horny Police Bonk?” 

Byeongkwan, having retrieved his shirt and jacket from the armchair, chucks it right at Sehyoon’s head. 

When Sehyoon removes it from his vision, Byeongkwan is - suddenly - clambering up on the bed again.

Crawling over - and into - Sehyoon’s lap.

This time, with an expression that’s impossible not to recognize on sight.

“Give my shirt back,” Byeongkwan sulks, cheeks puffing out in faux-annoyance. “Or **else**.” 

It’s only then that Sehyoon realizes his uniform is missing his trademark beret. 

Only then that Sehyoon realizes the heaviness in the hollow of his chest is warm, too.

“Or else what?” Sehyoon taunts, knowing very well it’s a weak threat - as if he has any real intent of wrestling with Byeongkwan in a hospital room. “What’s my punishment if I don’t behave, Officer?”

Mean, but not mean-spirited.

Playful? 

Yes, most definitely.

He shoves it into Byeongkwan’s face, much to the younger man's (audible) dismay.

He waits until Byeongkwan’s put his shirt back on, buttoned it more than halfway, to grab hold of his waist and pull Byeongkwan in.

It’s the closest they’ve ever been to one another before.

Entwined limbs, bodies flush, hands seeking out each other’s warmth.

Sehyoon...doesn’t really have to keep holding Byeongkwan to keep him this close.

“Is this,” he asks, hesitant as their foreheads bump and the tips of their noses brush, “okay?”

But, knowing that he doesn’t have to…

If he wants to, is that selfish of him?

Knowing, recognizing, that dazzling light reflected in Byeongkwan’s eyes is--

“Always,” exhales Byeongkwan, like it’s a relief. Like every bit of leftover tension and worry leaves him with the wetness that suddenly trails down past his chin, landing on the blanket between them. “I-I...told you I’m all yours, didn’t I? That means...you’re mine, too, Sehyoonie. Always.”

His open palms come to rest on Byeongkwan’s cheek, thumb wiping the leftover moisture away.

Byeongkwan takes hold of his face, then, smiling all the while.

“Always,” Sehyoon whispers, sweeping over that tear-streaked, beautiful face of his, “sounds like a great place to start, Kwannie. Especially if you’re with me.”

* * *

(When their lips finally, finally connect, it’s with relief that they feel together.

Sehyoon doesn’t know for sure, but he’s almost sure Byeongkwan feels it with him.

Maybe they both felt it, then, the way the world seemed to move for them.)

* * *

“Hey. Is someone peeking in on us?”

“...It’s Jun, isn’t it?”

“Yeeeeeeep. It’s Junnie-hyung.”

“...Figures. He was way too loud about not wanting the other two eavesdropping.”

“And they _do_ say...where there’s smoke, there’s fire?”

“Wrong analogy, but. Correct quote.”

“W-Well, whatever, I was close enough--!”

“--Speaking of close. Since we’re already like this...want to **_really_ ** give Jun something to tell the others about?” 

“Oooh, I love the way you think. Thinking like me now, huh? Can we, like, share thoughts telepathically without having to work too hard? Is that...a Soulmate thing?”

“...Let’s find out together?”

“...Let’s! Anything’s better when we’re together.”

“Agreed, no telepathy needed.”

“......Did you get it?”

“Hmm? What?”

“The message I just sent you, in that kiss? Did you get it?”

“...I don’t think I did, no. Try sending it again for me? This time, try the kiss method again.”

“Yooooooooonie!”

“...Kidding, I’m _kidding_.”

“Hmph. You’d better be.”

“...I love you, Kwannie.”

“...Love you way, _way_ more.”

**Author's Note:**

> the original prompt, with some adaptations, was: "sehyoon/byeongkwan soulmate au where you find your soulmate by the tattoo (tattoo is usually something your soulmate is interested in) on your arm burning when you're in proximity of them. sehyoon is firefighter, bk is a cop, they meet in the spring season at a fast-food restaurant that caught on fire lol"
> 
> this fic was my *baby* for the better part of 3 long months. and to think...i started this fic thinking i'd hit 6-7k max. ha-ha. :'} 
> 
> in any event, super hopeful OP likes the way this little tale of Love, Fate, & Taking Risks For What You Want In Life turned out! & thank you to any + all readers who've followed wowkwan from start to finish on this journey!! ❤


End file.
